


Burn

by willowwand



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drabble, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-30
Updated: 2006-07-30
Packaged: 2018-10-26 09:18:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10783929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willowwand/pseuds/willowwand
Summary: Ron experiences a loss. Will love ease the stinging pain of his grief?





	Burn

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

“Ron.”

 

Hermione was calling him but he didn’t respond. 

 

“A-are you okay?”

  _No._   

He wanted to scream it from the hilltops. He wanted to weep, beat his fists against the wall and yell until his throat tore from the stress.

 

“There is nothing we could have done. Even if we had been there…”

 

No guarantees. They were living on borrowed time. Life or death depended on being in the right or wrong place at the right or wrong time. 

 

“He was very brave. He knew what he was getting into,” she choked out.

 

Ron’s eyes flickered up to her tear-streaked face. At least they had a choice. He knew she was afraid for her parents, Muggles who hadn’t the luxury of taking sides. They had no means to protect themselves, no real knowledge of a world in which there were people who wanted to kill them simply for their lack of magical ability.

 

“You’ve been out here all morning. Please, come back with me.”

 

He felt her arms snake gingerly around his neck and his back stiffened in response.  He wanted to be miserable, but her tears soaked the shoulder of his t-shirt and he felt his heart unclench. He allowed himself to sink into her embrace.

 

“Come home,” she said softly. “Your skin is peeling from sitting in the sun all day.”

 

He pressed his hand to his cheek and felt the hot, stinging skin there. She offered him her hand and helped him up from where he was kneeling in front of a cold, stone marker bearing the name Weasley. 

 

His brother wasn’t the first casualty, nor would he be the last. He knew he couldn’t have saved him, but right then he swore he would fight his hardest to keep Hermione and Harry from harm.


End file.
